After the fall of the Mongols in the fifteenth century, Persia fell into a state of disorder as no power arose to dominate the area. During the period of chaos, Persia witnessed various populist Islamic movements, one of which was a Sufi brotherhood led by Safi al-Din (1252-1334.) His successor, the Safavids, embraced Shiism, one of the two major branches of Islam. With the support of the Qizilbash - the Turkish-speaking clans of warriors, Ismail I, Safi al-Din’s successor took power in Tabriz, the capital of Persia, and proclaimed himself the first shah (king) of the Safavid Empire in 1501. Shah Ismail I declared Shiism as Persia's official state religion and executed any Persian non-converts, focusing especially on converting the Sunnis, who were initially the majority, into becoming Shiites.[1]
Theocracy
The Safavid Empire was a theocracy. The Safavids revived the traditional Persian belief that the shahs were ordained by God. Shah Ismail I was seen infallible and semi-divine, and therefore the state and church were combined, giving the shah absolute control over the empire.[2] It can be said that the shah's massive control over the empire is likely to be destructive in the end; although theocracy was a good way to gain total control, with only the monarch as the one and only powerful supporting beam, the empire would likely crash down shortly after the fall of the shah. Furthermore, the belief that the shah was infallible gave citizens false hope, which faltered in occasions of defeat, an example of which was when Ismail was defeated by the Turkish sultan Selim in the Battle of Chaldiran (1514,) resulting in the Ottomans' annexation of the Safavids' eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq.[3]
Significant leaders
One of the significant rulers of the Safavid Empire was Shah Tahmasp, Ismail's successor. Although early Safavid power was often militant and relied heavily on the Qizilbash, after the defeat in Chaldiran, Ismail eschewed politics and left the matter of government to the office of the Wakil. This marked the beginning of a 10-year-long civil war between the rival Qizilbash factions, whose morale shattered following the legacy of the Chaldiran defeat, to gain control of the empire. The civil war ended when Shah Tahmasp came of age and reasserted authority as king in 1524, only to be followed by the Uzbeks' multiple attacks on the eastern provinces of the kingdom, and the Ottomans' repeated invasions of Persia, resulting in the loss of parts of Iraq and the north-western territory. To secure the capital, Tahmasp moved the capital from Tabriz to Qazvin, and ended the war by elevating the strength of the military and signing the peace treaty of Amasya with the Ottomans, which secured Tabriz and the north-western borders.[4] During his reign, Tahmasp also established strong ties with the emerging Mughal Empire, due to the two empires' common enemy as the Uzbeks. The alliance persisted, almost undoubted, throughout the history of the Safavid dynasty. Tahmasp successfully lifted Persia up from its dire state into becoming a country with a strong military, secure borders and amity with its neighbors.[5]
Another successful ruler, who was arguably the greatest leader in the history of the Safavid Empire was Shah Abbas I
Shah Abbas I https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/ShahAbbasPortraitFromItalianPainter.jpg
who came into power in 1587. Having noticed the Persian military's ineffectiveness against the Ottomans and the Uzbeks, he reorganized the army similar to the effective and well-trained European model, as well as adopted the use of gunpowder in the military. Apart from improving the empire's military standing, the shah also moved the capital to Isfahan, further into central Iran and built a new city beside the ancient Persian one, establishing a Persian character to the Safavid Empire. During the reign of Abbas, Persia witnessed various cultural flourishing of the Safavid Empire - one of the major successes of Shah Abbas I. Moreover, Persia also witnessed alliance with the Europeans against their common enemy, the Ottomans during the reign of Abbas I.[5]
The economy of the Safavid Empire was largely based on agriculture and pastoralism: the Persians being peasants and settled agriculturists, and the Turcoman tribes being the cattle breeders.
The largest share of tax revenue was from the taxation of agricultural products, therefore, the Safavid economy was mostly dependent on agriculture. The variety of Persia's agricultural products was unsurpassed, those existing in Europe were of superior quality, such as tobacco, saffron, melons, grapes and dates; otherwise, many of the fruits and vegetables were even unheard of in Europe.[6]
One of the major reasons why trade flourished in the Safavid Empire was Iran's location between Europe, India, and Islamic Central Asia, as well as the Silk Road's revival in the 16th Century, which brought trade through northern Iran to India. Furthermore, Shah Abbas I supported direct trade with Europe, especially England and the Netherlands, which sought Persian carpet, silk and textiles - some of the major exports of Persia. The Persians also exported horses, goat hair, pearls and hadam-talka - a bitter almond used as spice in India. Persia imported woolen textiles from Europe, cotton textiles from Gujarat, India. Other major imports include spice, metals, coffee, and sugar from Europe, India, and Islamic Central Asia via the Silk route.[7]
Persian Carpethttp://www.claremontrug.com/antiqueorientalrugeducation/2013/02/antique-oriental-carpet-tops-sothebys-curatorial-auction/
(See "Artistic Innovation" section to explore some of the prominent themes in the woven art that make Persian textiles unique and desirable to European importers)
The Safavids were a mixed society. Although most of the population of the Safavid Empire were relatively sophisticated and urbanized Iranians, the Turkish-speaking tribal groups who helped the Safavids gained control over Tabriz also retained considerable influence within the empire.[15] The two parallel groups were tied together by the official state religion: Shiism.
Social Hierarchy
Early in the history of the Safavid Empire, the Qizilbash, a band of Turkish-speaking warrior that aided the Shah Ismail in capturing Tabriz,were dominant in the social hierarchy. However, the power shifted with the legend of the Safavids' defeat in the Battle of Chaldiran (1514,) and the Qizilbash's position in the social hierarchy was successfully diminished by Ismail's successors, the most explicit being Shah Abbas I.[8]
During Abbas I's reign, the power shifted to the new merchant class including ethnic Armenians, Georgians, and Indians, as well as the nobility, as trade prospered in Persia.[9]
The society in Persia did not limit those who were not born of high nobility from climbing up the social hierarchy, as it was based on meritocracy - a society in which officials were appointed according to worth and merit, rather than family social stature. Since sons of nobles also needed to prove their worth to inherit their fathers' occupational position, meritocracy prevented the Safavids from having an entrenched aristocracy or a cast society[10], possibly one of the reasons for the prosperity of the Safavid Empire.
Chart information derived from https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~daradib/chsntech/review/social-studies/world/safavid-aspire.pdf, Last viewed November 3, 2015
Genders The table below shows how the different genders were expected to behave in Safavid society and how they were viewed. The last column shows aspects that were not dependent on genders, and applied to both men and women.
Men
Women
Men and Women
Encouraged to experience sex at an early age
Types - The wives of men in the upper societal class - Women in the rural sector - Women engaged in the arts and crafts and industrial activities in the cities - Women who had contracted temporary marriage - "Slaves of both sexes" - The prostitutes. [11]
Arranged marriages by an attorney between two people with comparable social status [11]
If the husband asked for a divorce, he would have to return the wife's dowry
Women's appearances were admired
Lifelong celibacy was considered unacceptable
Woman-posing boys in teahouses of Tabriz and Yerevan were common in Abbas II's reign [13]
Virginity was protected until the day of marriage
Divorce was available for both sexes [12]
If the wife asked for a divorce, she would lose her dowry
Both women and men were active in trade [13]
As a result of men's encouragement to experience sex at an early age, prostitution was very common, and prostitutes were wealthy [11]
Women were generally described as passive but some had an active role in the arts, being female patrons (often pious and celibate unmarried daughter or sister of ruling men.)[12]
Women fought like men in wars during Shah Ismail's reign
In Shah Ismail’s reign, for religious purposes, women must avoid being seen in public
Women had more freedom during Shah Abbas I’s reign. Normal women could often be seen in public. Yet, not many women held governmental posts.[13]
(Women were given special “bonfire days” when they could walk without masks and veils in specific places, where no men could attend.)
Urban Life, Cities
In the Safavid Empire, political and commercial urban cities were developed next to old texture as a way of implementing specific political, economic and social policies. The cities were arranged in three kinds of placement: producer of raw materials, industrial, and exporter cities.The raw material producers were the Northern cities, which produced silk by growing silk worms. The industrial cities include Isfahan, Kashan, and Yazd, where silk was converted into textiles such as carpet and cloth, which were then woven in shops. The third placement, or the exporter cities include ports and coastal cities in North of Iran such as Farah Abad and Mashhadsar. [16] By developing new urban cities next to old ones, the Safavids established an age of Persian cultural and economic revival, bringing the flow of money and flourishing traditions into not only the newly-built cities, but also previously-existing ones. Furthermore, the arrangement of cities into three placement shows how organized the Safavids were at ruling, which made it hardly surprising that they, once a small group of loyal Shiite, had risen to form an empire of their own.
Persian Characteristics
"The Persians are the most civilized of the peoples of the East, and what the French are to Europe, they are to the Orient... Their bearing and countenance is the best-composed, mild, serious, impressive, genial and welcoming as far as possible. They never fail to perform at once theappropriate gestures of politeness when meeting each other... They are the most wheedling people in the world, with the most engaging manners, the most supple spirits and a language that is gentle and flattering, and devoid of unpleasant terms but rather full of circumlocutions." - Jean Chardin (A Frenchman who had lived in Persia during the reign of the Safavids)[15]
[14] Duiker, William & Spielvogel, Jackson, 2013, World History Vol. 2: Since 1500, Eight Edition, Safavid Politics and Society, 458. [15] Ferrier, RW, A journey to Persia: Jean Chardin’s portrait of a seventeenth-century empire, p. 111-113. [16] Archaeology, Journal Of Anthropology &, 1(1); June 2013, Pp. 28-40, and Farzin & Zoor Taghavi. Function of Iranian Cities in Safavid Erapolitical Cities or Commercial Cities.
Religion
After Ismail's conquest of Iran in 1501, the shah made conversion mandatory for the largely Sunni population. The Sunni ulamas or religious scholars were exiled or executed. Even Sufi practices were prohibited despite the Safavid's Sufi origin. Ismail brought into Persia, Shia religious leaders and granted them land and money in return for loyalty. It was really during the Qajar period (1789-1925,) after the fall of the Safavid Empire that Shia power was prominent enough to exercise a role in the society, independent from or compatible with the government.[15] Although the Safavids were not so accepting in terms of other religions at first, in the reign of Abbas I, they were tolerant of Christians, as the shah desired to establish trade with the Europeans, as well as form an alliance with them against the Ottomans, their common enemy.[5] (See the display of the Safavids' belief in the existence of God and heaven in the "Architecture" section: Imam Mosque)
The School of Isfahan represented the apogee of Islamic philosophy in what was like the Safavids' version of the renaissance: an age of Shiite philosophy revival. Founded by Mir Damad, the school gave birth to arguably the most significant philosopher of the Islamic East, Mulla Sadra whose approach to philosophy is still influential nowadays. [16] As said by Iranologist Richard Nelson Frye, "The Persians schools of thought were the true heirs of the great Islamic thinkers of the golden age of Islam, whereas in the Ottoman empire there was an intellectual stagnation, as far as the traditions of Islamic philosophy were concerned." [17] (See the "Classic Literary Texts" section for more information)
Mulla Husayn & the Sifter of Wheat in IsfahanSource: http://bahaifaithart.com/bahaifaithart/Mulla_Husayn_%26_the_Sifter_of_Wheat_in_Isfahan.html, Last accessed November 5, 2015
Velvet fragment, 16th century; Safavid IranSilk and metal thread; velvet; H. 31 in. (78.7 cm), Gr. W. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm)Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1952 (52.20.11)
Title: Woven Textile, Artist/maker unknown, Persian, Silk twill weave with silver thread pattern wefts and silk and silver thread brocading wefts,17th century,Philadelphia Museum of Art Collection, Formerly in The AMICO Library
The Seley Carpet, Safavid period (1501–1722), late 16th centuryIran, Silk (warp), cotton (weft), wool (weft and pile); asymmetrically knotted pile; L. 280 in. (711.2 cm), W. 121 in. (307.3 cm)Presented in memory of Richard Ettinghausen, Gift of Louis E., Theresa S., Hervey, and Elliot Jay Seley, and Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick and Fletcher Funds, 1978 (1978.550)
From the artworks shown above, one can clearly observe that the common theme in the woven artworks of the Safavid Empire is nature. All of the three artworks depict nature with the use of similar floral designs and various animals. The artworks also show the Persians’ viewpoint regarding nature: they felt connected to nature, united. This is explicit in the design of the velvet fragment (first); the weaver intricately wove people, flowering trees and birds, all encompassed within a large flower outline, possibly symbolizing the unity of and nature in nature’s embrace. As seen in the artworks, the Safavids also valued intricacy in the arts, having observed their use of fine lines (especially those seen in the top right artwork: Woven Textile) and small patterns.
Erotic Scene, 1660, Material:Ink, gold and color on paper, Style Period:Safavid, Repository:Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA , Francis Bartlett Donation and Picture Fund ,14.644, http://www.mfa.org/ARTstor Collection Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Collection
A Lady Standing with a Cup of Fruit; a Youth Kneeling with a Wine Bottle and Spray, 16th century, Material: Paper; Painting on paper, Measurements10.2 x 18.2 cm, Style Period: Safavid period, Repository:Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Francis Bartlett Donation and Picture Fund 14.586, http://www.mfa.org/
From the three paintings above, one can observe another common theme in Safavid paintings: sensual pleasure and women's aesthetic quality. Forms of sensuality could be seen in all three pictures; first two show lovers engaging in sexual physical contact, while the third painting shows a woman holding fruits - symbolism of fertility.[18] The admiration for women's beauty in Safavid culture is also seen in the paintings; headdresses, vibrant colors, various patterns adorn the women's outfits, emphasizing the Safavid admiration of women's aesthetic quality. The painters also use the technique of placing vibrant, contrasting colors adjacently, to allow the audience to focus on the main elements of the paintings, as well as to convey the intensity of sensual emotions in the paintings, therefore, telling the audience of the Safavids' emphasis on how men were encouraged to experience sex at an early age. (See "Gender roles")
[18] Mitchell, Mark, 2014, The Connotations of Fruit in Art and Still Life Paintings
Architecture
This video serves to give a general idea of some of the common architectural designs of the Safavid period... (start at 1:55)
Imam (Shah) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran
Painting by the French architect, Pascal Coste, visiting Persia in 1841"Imam (Shah) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran « Islamic Arts and Architecture." Islamic Arts and Architecture. Accessed November 04, 2015. http://islamic-arts.org/2012/imam-shah-mosque-in-isfahan-iran/.
The Imam Mosque in Isfahan utilizes a unique Safavid architectural design: the four-iwan style. At the center of the layout is an open courtyard, each of the four walls of which is punctuated with a vaulted hall - an iwan.[19] The design gives an impression of being the gateway to the spiritual world, thus achieving the architectural goal of the Safavid Empire - to create an earthly representative of heavenly paradise.
Plan of the Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran, showing iwans opening onto the sahn (court)https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-islam/beginners-guide-islamic/a/common-types-of-mosque-architecture.
"Imam (Shah) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran « Islamic Arts and Architecture." Islamic Arts and Architecture. Accessed November 04, 2015. http://islamic-arts.org/2012/imam-shah-mosque-in-isfahan-iran/.
The mosque contains 18 million bricks and 475,000 tiles. [20] Its grandeur is largely due to its seven-color mosaic tiles and beautiful calligraphic inscriptions. [22] By displaying the mosque's splendor using various architectural techniques, the wealth and power of the Empire, as well as the glory of the Shiite God was displayed to both insiders and foreign outsiders, especially the Europeans like the English and the French, who paid visits to the Safavid capital of Isfahan.
Mulla Sadra, arguably the most significant philosopher of the Islamic East in the Safavid era, and alumnus of the famous Isfahan School of Philosophy, wrote over forty-five works. One of his most successful works is al-Asfar al-arba’a, translated as The Four Journeys, which features a discussion about the metaphorical journeys that the soul takes through the world during life, as well as the emphasis of the Shiite God's existence and His importance in influencing people.
al-hikma al-muta'aliyya fi al-asfar al-arba'ahttp://fadakbooks.com/alalfialal2.html
(A Brief Summary According to Sadra, the first journey takes the reader through basic principles of philosophy, as well as those of metaphysics and their importance. The second journey tells the reader about the nature of God and his divine attributes. This section also significantly emphasizes on the proofs of God's existence, and describes the absorption in the divine essence, as well as the deliberate effacement of the “self.” The third journey explains the relationships between the concepts such as nature, time, and creation, and makes connections of those concepts with God and the world. It brings the reader back to sobriety and reality, as well as creates awareness of the reader's moral duties in the world. The fourth and final journey creates deeper understanding of human psychology, as well as summarizes the fact that human beings should realize their desire to return to God, who is the source of being.[21])
This piece of literature shows the level of sophistication of Safavid scholars, implying high level of civilization of the Safavid society, as well as the success of the Isfahan School of Philosophy, having given birth to Sadra, an author whose influence still persists in Islamic literature today. It also displays the immense scale of which the society was based upon Shiism as the official state religion, seeing from how Mulla Sadra, the great philosopher of the Safavid era, emphasized the existence and role of God in his writing.
Apart from giving later generations of readers a general idea of Shiism as the Safavids' sole religion, the literary piece also implies the scale of which the Safavid royals made an effort to convert the Persian population to Shiites. The Four Journeys was an excellent conversion tool, as it did not only effectively targeted the literate Islams, but also the lower class; as Sadra's Shiite philosophy spread and was passed on among the upper class, it would likely reach the illiterate, therefore, leading the population to conversion.
From this project, I have learned several things about the Safavid Empire. Firstly, I learned that from a cultural perspective, the Safavids were largely focused on appearance - how people within and without Persia perceived their empire. The Safavids valued greatly their display of the empire's wealth and power; they displayed the empire's prosperity through architectural grandeur. They were also very religious; their architectural designs depict heaven and show the glory of the Shiite God; their educational system was largely based on Shiite philosophy; their famous classic literature discussing Shiite philosophy and the importance of God. I have also learned about the immense scale of the Safavids' effort to convert the largely Sunni Persian population into loyal Shiites, as well as various means through which they achieved their conversionist goal (these means include persecution, architecture, education, and literature.) The sophistication of the Safavid Persians also caught my attention. Observing from the fact that philosophy was used to spread religion, it could be assumed that many were literate and sophisticated to a certain degree. Furthermore, the structuring of the Persian cities to incorporate the different stages of production within one empire shows the effectiveness of the Safavid shahs' ruling methods.
Grading:
F: Follows directions but steals material. Both footnotes (or endnotes) and a bibliography (in Chicago Manual of Style format) are expected. You can change text using the T button to create superscript numbers.1 In short, treat the project like writing a research paper. There should be a caption under each picture that gives the name, originator, date, and source. Paragraphs and descriptions should be your writing, not another author's work pasted in with a few key words changed using the thesaurus function in Word. D: Follows directions, cites sources, doesn't complete the project, is riddled with errors. It is evident that the team failed to use its time well. C: Follows directions. Pastes the correct items into the correct places but takes no care in explaining the choices made. Uses less than six sources. Text is SLOPPY - no proofing! B: Follows directions. Describes the choices made using complete sentences and clear language. Labels items correctly. Cites sources. Organizes the visuals. The paragraphs are clearly written, but general in nature. A: Does B - but, shows some extra care, thought and research. An A has a "Wow" factor. This does not mean more color or flying moneys. It means that the content selected does a great job TEACHING about the culture of the in that region in that time period
The Safavid Empire
The Early Safavid Period...Map during the time period.
http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his112/notes/safavid.html
Political Backdrop
The Advent
After the fall of the Mongols in the fifteenth century, Persia fell into a state of disorder as no power arose to dominate the area. During the period of chaos, Persia witnessed various populist Islamic movements, one of which was a Sufi brotherhood led by Safi al-Din (1252-1334.) His successor, the Safavids, embraced Shiism, one of the two major branches of Islam. With the support of the Qizilbash - the Turkish-speaking clans of warriors, Ismail I, Safi al-Din’s successor took power in Tabriz, the capital of Persia, and proclaimed himself the first shah (king) of the Safavid Empire in 1501. Shah Ismail I declared Shiism as Persia's official state religion and executed any Persian non-converts, focusing especially on converting the Sunnis, who were initially the majority, into becoming Shiites.[1]
Theocracy
The Safavid Empire was a theocracy. The Safavids revived the traditional Persian belief that the shahs were ordained by God. Shah Ismail I was seen infallible and semi-divine, and therefore the state and church were combined, giving the shah absolute control over the empire.[2] It can be said that the shah's massive control over the empire is likely to be destructive in the end; although theocracy was a good way to gain total control, with only the monarch as the one and only powerful supporting beam, the empire would likely crash down shortly after the fall of the shah. Furthermore, the belief that the shah was infallible gave citizens false hope, which faltered in occasions of defeat, an example of which was when Ismail was defeated by the Turkish sultan Selim in the Battle of Chaldiran (1514,) resulting in the Ottomans' annexation of the Safavids' eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq.[3]
Significant leaders
One of the significant rulers of the Safavid Empire was Shah Tahmasp, Ismail's successor. Although early Safavid power was often militant and relied heavily on the Qizilbash, after the defeat in Chaldiran, Ismail eschewed politics and left the matter of government to the office of the Wakil. This marked the beginning of a 10-year-long civil war between the rival Qizilbash factions, whose morale shattered following the legacy of the Chaldiran defeat, to gain control of the empire. The civil war ended when Shah Tahmasp came of age and reasserted authority as king in 1524, only to be followed by the Uzbeks' multiple attacks on the eastern provinces of the kingdom, and the Ottomans' repeated invasions of Persia, resulting in the loss of parts of Iraq and the north-western territory. To secure the capital, Tahmasp moved the capital from Tabriz to Qazvin, and ended the war by elevating the strength of the military and signing the peace treaty of Amasya with the Ottomans, which secured Tabriz and the north-western borders.[4] During his reign, Tahmasp also established strong ties with the emerging Mughal Empire, due to the two empires' common enemy as the Uzbeks. The alliance persisted, almost undoubted, throughout the history of the Safavid dynasty. Tahmasp successfully lifted Persia up from its dire state into becoming a country with a strong military, secure borders and amity with its neighbors.[5]
Another successful ruler, who was arguably the greatest leader in the history of the Safavid Empire was Shah Abbas I
who came into power in 1587. Having noticed the Persian military's ineffectiveness against the Ottomans and the Uzbeks, he reorganized the army similar to the effective and well-trained European model, as well as adopted the use of gunpowder in the military. Apart from improving the empire's military standing, the shah also moved the capital to Isfahan, further into central Iran and built a new city beside the ancient Persian one, establishing a Persian character to the Safavid Empire. During the reign of Abbas, Persia witnessed various cultural flourishing of the Safavid Empire - one of the major successes of Shah Abbas I. Moreover, Persia also witnessed alliance with the Europeans against their common enemy, the Ottomans during the reign of Abbas I.[5]
[1] Tignor, Robert, et al., 2011, Worlds Together Worlds Apart Volume Two From 1000 CE to the Present Third Edition, Islamic Dynasties, pp. 423-425.
[2] Perry, James, Safavid Project, http://safavidproject.wikispaces.com/Government, Last modified May 25, 2011.
[3] Ira M. Lapidus. "A History of Islamic Societies" Cambridge University Press ISBN 1139991507 p 336
[4] Blow, D, Shah Abbas: The ruthless king who became an Iranian legend, p. 9.
[5] Safavid Dynasty, http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST351-7.3-Safavid-Dynasty.pdf, Last viewed November 3, 2015.
Economic Backdrop
The economy of the Safavid Empire was largely based on agriculture and pastoralism: the Persians being peasants and settled agriculturists, and the Turcoman tribes being the cattle breeders.
The largest share of tax revenue was from the taxation of agricultural products, therefore, the Safavid economy was mostly dependent on agriculture. The variety of Persia's agricultural products was unsurpassed, those existing in Europe were of superior quality, such as tobacco, saffron, melons, grapes and dates; otherwise, many of the fruits and vegetables were even unheard of in Europe.[6]
One of the major reasons why trade flourished in the Safavid Empire was Iran's location between Europe, India, and Islamic Central Asia, as well as the Silk Road's revival in the 16th Century, which brought trade through northern Iran to India. Furthermore, Shah Abbas I supported direct trade with Europe, especially England and the Netherlands, which sought Persian carpet, silk and textiles - some of the major exports of Persia. The Persians also exported horses, goat hair, pearls and hadam-talka - a bitter almond used as spice in India. Persia imported woolen textiles from Europe, cotton textiles from Gujarat, India. Other major imports include spice, metals, coffee, and sugar from Europe, India, and Islamic Central Asia via the Silk route.[7]
(See "Artistic Innovation" section to explore some of the prominent themes in the woven art that make Persian textiles unique and desirable to European importers)
[6] Safavid Dynasty, Agriculture, pp 22, http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST351-7.3-Safavid-Dynasty.pdf, Last viewed November 3, 2015.
[7] Safavid Dynasty, Economy, pp 22, http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST351-7.3-Safavid-Dynasty.pdf, Last viewed November 3, 2015.
Timeline
Aspects of Culture
Social Backdrop
The Persian Population Groups
The Safavids were a mixed society. Although most of the population of the Safavid Empire were relatively sophisticated and urbanized Iranians, the Turkish-speaking tribal groups who helped the Safavids gained control over Tabriz also retained considerable influence within the empire.[15] The two parallel groups were tied together by the official state religion: Shiism.
Social Hierarchy
Early in the history of the Safavid Empire, the Qizilbash, a band of Turkish-speaking warrior that aided the Shah Ismail in capturing Tabriz,were dominant in the social hierarchy. However, the power shifted with the legend of the Safavids' defeat in the Battle of Chaldiran (1514,) and the Qizilbash's position in the social hierarchy was successfully diminished by Ismail's successors, the most explicit being Shah Abbas I.[8]
During Abbas I's reign, the power shifted to the new merchant class including ethnic Armenians, Georgians, and Indians, as well as the nobility, as trade prospered in Persia.[9]
The society in Persia did not limit those who were not born of high nobility from climbing up the social hierarchy, as it was based on meritocracy - a society in which officials were appointed according to worth and merit, rather than family social stature. Since sons of nobles also needed to prove their worth to inherit their fathers' occupational position, meritocracy prevented the Safavids from having an entrenched aristocracy or a cast society[10], possibly one of the reasons for the prosperity of the Safavid Empire.
Chart information derived from https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~daradib/chsntech/review/social-studies/world/safavid-aspire.pdf, Last viewed November 3, 2015
Genders
The table below shows how the different genders were expected to behave in Safavid society and how they were viewed. The last column shows aspects that were not dependent on genders, and applied to both men and women.
- The wives of men in the upper societal class
- Women in the rural sector
- Women engaged in the arts and crafts and industrial activities in the cities
- Women who had contracted temporary marriage
- "Slaves of both sexes"
- The prostitutes. [11]
Urban Life, Cities
In the Safavid Empire, political and commercial urban cities were developed next to old texture as a way of implementing specific political, economic and social policies. The cities were arranged in three kinds of placement: producer of raw materials, industrial, and exporter cities.The raw material producers were the Northern cities, which produced silk by growing silk worms. The industrial cities include Isfahan, Kashan, and Yazd, where silk was converted into textiles such as carpet and cloth, which were then woven in shops. The third placement, or the exporter cities include ports and coastal cities in North of Iran such as Farah Abad and Mashhadsar. [16] By developing new urban cities next to old ones, the Safavids established an age of Persian cultural and economic revival, bringing the flow of money and flourishing traditions into not only the newly-built cities, but also previously-existing ones. Furthermore, the arrangement of cities into three placement shows how organized the Safavids were at ruling, which made it hardly surprising that they, once a small group of loyal Shiite, had risen to form an empire of their own.
Persian Characteristics
"The Persians are the most civilized of the peoples of the East, and what the French are to Europe, they are to the Orient... Their bearing and countenance is the best-composed, mild, serious, impressive, genial and welcoming as far as possible. They never fail to perform at once theappropriate gestures of politeness when meeting each other... They are the most wheedling people in the world, with the most engaging manners, the most supple spirits and a language that is gentle and flattering, and devoid of unpleasant terms but rather full of circumlocutions." - Jean Chardin (A Frenchman who had lived in Persia during the reign of the Safavids)[15]
[8] Safavid Dynasty, Clashes with the Ottomans, pp 6, http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST351-7.3-Safavid-Dynasty.pdf, Last viewed November 3, 2015.
[9] Safavid Dynasty 1501-1736 (official end in 1760,) https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~daradib/chsntech/review/social-studies/world/safavid-aspire.pdf, Last viewed November 3, 2015
[10] Savory, Roger, Iran under the Safavids, p. 183.
[11] Ferrier, R., 'Women in Safavid Iran: The Evidence of European Travellers', in G.Hambly, ed., Women in the Medieval Islamic World, Power, Patronage and Piety, London, 1998, 384-386.
[12] Iran Chamber Society, History of Iran, Women in the Safavid Era, http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/women_safavid_era.php, Last viewed November 3, 2015.
[13] "Women's Status During the Safavid Period." The Lancet 211, no. 5458 (1928): 712. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(00)96797-7.
[14] Duiker, William & Spielvogel, Jackson, 2013, World History Vol. 2: Since 1500, Eight Edition, Safavid Politics and Society, 458.
[15] Ferrier, RW, A journey to Persia: Jean Chardin’s portrait of a seventeenth-century empire, p. 111-113.
[16] Archaeology, Journal Of Anthropology &, 1(1); June 2013, Pp. 28-40, and Farzin & Zoor Taghavi. Function of Iranian Cities in Safavid Erapolitical Cities or Commercial Cities.
Religion
After Ismail's conquest of Iran in 1501, the shah made conversion mandatory for the largely Sunni population. The Sunni ulamas or religious scholars were exiled or executed. Even Sufi practices were prohibited despite the Safavid's Sufi origin. Ismail brought into Persia, Shia religious leaders and granted them land and money in return for loyalty. It was really during the Qajar period (1789-1925,) after the fall of the Safavid Empire that Shia power was prominent enough to exercise a role in the society, independent from or compatible with the government.[15] Although the Safavids were not so accepting in terms of other religions at first, in the reign of Abbas I, they were tolerant of Christians, as the shah desired to establish trade with the Europeans, as well as form an alliance with them against the Ottomans, their common enemy.[5]
(See the display of the Safavids' belief in the existence of God and heaven in the "Architecture" section: Imam Mosque)
[15] Safavid Dynasty, Shia Islam as the State Religion, pp 13, http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST351-7.3-Safavid-Dynasty.pdf, Last viewed November 3, 2015.
Education
The School of Isfahan represented the apogee of Islamic philosophy in what was like the Safavids' version of the renaissance: an age of Shiite philosophy revival. Founded by Mir Damad, the school gave birth to arguably the most significant philosopher of the Islamic East, Mulla Sadra whose approach to philosophy is still influential nowadays. [16]
As said by Iranologist Richard Nelson Frye,
"The Persians schools of thought were the true heirs of the great Islamic thinkers of the golden age of Islam, whereas in the Ottoman empire there was an intellectual stagnation, as far as the traditions of Islamic philosophy were concerned." [17]
(See the "Classic Literary Texts" section for more information)
[16] Safavid Dynasty, The Isfahan School - Islamic Philosophy Revived, pp 27, http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST351-7.3-Safavid-Dynasty.pdf, Last viewed November 3, 2015.
[17] RN Frye, The Golden Age of Persia, Phoenix Press, 2000, p. 234
Artistic Innovation
Woven Artwork
From the artworks shown above, one can clearly observe that the common theme in the woven artworks of the Safavid Empire is nature. All of the three artworks depict nature with the use of similar floral designs and various animals. The artworks also show the Persians’ viewpoint regarding nature: they felt connected to nature, united. This is explicit in the design of the velvet fragment (first); the weaver intricately wove people, flowering trees and birds, all encompassed within a large flower outline, possibly symbolizing the unity of and nature in nature’s embrace. As seen in the artworks, the Safavids also valued intricacy in the arts, having observed their use of fine lines (especially those seen in the top right artwork: Woven Textile) and small patterns.
Paintings
From the three paintings above, one can observe another common theme in Safavid paintings: sensual pleasure and women's aesthetic quality. Forms of sensuality could be seen in all three pictures; first two show lovers engaging in sexual physical contact, while the third painting shows a woman holding fruits - symbolism of fertility.[18] The admiration for women's beauty in Safavid culture is also seen in the paintings; headdresses, vibrant colors, various patterns adorn the women's outfits, emphasizing the Safavid admiration of women's aesthetic quality. The painters also use the technique of placing vibrant, contrasting colors adjacently, to allow the audience to focus on the main elements of the paintings, as well as to convey the intensity of sensual emotions in the paintings, therefore, telling the audience of the Safavids' emphasis on how men were encouraged to experience sex at an early age. (See "Gender roles")
[18] Mitchell, Mark, 2014, The Connotations of Fruit in Art and Still Life Paintings
Architecture
This video serves to give a general idea of some of the common architectural designs of the Safavid period... (start at 1:55)
Imam (Shah) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran
The Imam Mosque in Isfahan utilizes a unique Safavid architectural design: the four-iwan style. At the center of the layout is an open courtyard, each of the four walls of which is punctuated with a vaulted hall - an iwan.[19] The design gives an impression of being the gateway to the spiritual world, thus achieving the architectural goal of the Safavid Empire - to create an earthly representative of heavenly paradise.
The mosque contains 18 million bricks and 475,000 tiles. [20] Its grandeur is largely due to its seven-color mosaic tiles and beautiful calligraphic inscriptions. [22] By displaying the mosque's splendor using various architectural techniques, the wealth and power of the Empire, as well as the glory of the Shiite God was displayed to both insiders and foreign outsiders, especially the Europeans like the English and the French, who paid visits to the Safavid capital of Isfahan.
[19] https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-islam/beginners-guide-islamic/a/common-types-of-mosque-architecture. Last accessed November 4, 2015.
[20] Pope, Survey, p 1185-1188.
[21] Pope, Survey, p 1185-1188.
[22] "Imam (Shah) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran « Islamic Arts and Architecture." Islamic Arts and Architecture. Last accessed November 04, 2015. http://islamic-arts.org/2012/imam-shah-mosque-in-isfahan-iran/.
Classic literary texts
Mulla Sadra, arguably the most significant philosopher of the Islamic East in the Safavid era, and alumnus of the famous Isfahan School of Philosophy, wrote over forty-five works. One of his most successful works is al-Asfar al-arba’a, translated as The Four Journeys, which features a discussion about the metaphorical journeys that the soul takes through the world during life, as well as the emphasis of the Shiite God's existence and His importance in influencing people.
(A Brief Summary
According to Sadra, the first journey takes the reader through basic principles of philosophy, as well as those of metaphysics and their importance. The second journey tells the reader about the nature of God and his divine attributes. This section also significantly emphasizes on the proofs of God's existence, and describes the absorption in the divine essence, as well as the deliberate effacement of the “self.” The third journey explains the relationships between the concepts such as nature, time, and creation, and makes connections of those concepts with God and the world. It brings the reader back to sobriety and reality, as well as creates awareness of the reader's moral duties in the world. The fourth and final journey creates deeper understanding of human psychology, as well as summarizes the fact that human beings should realize their desire to return to God, who is the source of being.[21])
This piece of literature shows the level of sophistication of Safavid scholars, implying high level of civilization of the Safavid society, as well as the success of the Isfahan School of Philosophy, having given birth to Sadra, an author whose influence still persists in Islamic literature today. It also displays the immense scale of which the society was based upon Shiism as the official state religion, seeing from how Mulla Sadra, the great philosopher of the Safavid era, emphasized the existence and role of God in his writing.
Apart from giving later generations of readers a general idea of Shiism as the Safavids' sole religion, the literary piece also implies the scale of which the Safavid royals made an effort to convert the Persian population to Shiites. The Four Journeys was an excellent conversion tool, as it did not only effectively targeted the literate Islams, but also the lower class; as Sadra's Shiite philosophy spread and was passed on among the upper class, it would likely reach the illiterate, therefore, leading the population to conversion.
[21] Rizvi, Sajjad. "Mulla Sadra." Stanford University. June 09, 2009. Accessed November 05, 2015. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mulla-sadra/#Wor.
Observations about what we have learned.
From this project, I have learned several things about the Safavid Empire. Firstly, I learned that from a cultural perspective, the Safavids were largely focused on appearance - how people within and without Persia perceived their empire. The Safavids valued greatly their display of the empire's wealth and power; they displayed the empire's prosperity through architectural grandeur. They were also very religious; their architectural designs depict heaven and show the glory of the Shiite God; their educational system was largely based on Shiite philosophy; their famous classic literature discussing Shiite philosophy and the importance of God. I have also learned about the immense scale of the Safavids' effort to convert the largely Sunni Persian population into loyal Shiites, as well as various means through which they achieved their conversionist goal (these means include persecution, architecture, education, and literature.) The sophistication of the Safavid Persians also caught my attention. Observing from the fact that philosophy was used to spread religion, it could be assumed that many were literate and sophisticated to a certain degree. Furthermore, the structuring of the Persian cities to incorporate the different stages of production within one empire shows the effectiveness of the Safavid shahs' ruling methods.
Grading:
F: Follows directions but steals material. Both footnotes (or endnotes) and a bibliography (in Chicago Manual of Style format) are expected. You can change text using the T button to create superscript numbers.1 In short, treat the project like writing a research paper. There should be a caption under each picture that gives the name, originator, date, and source. Paragraphs and descriptions should be your writing, not another author's work pasted in with a few key words changed using the thesaurus function in Word.D: Follows directions, cites sources, doesn't complete the project, is riddled with errors. It is evident that the team failed to use its time well.
C: Follows directions. Pastes the correct items into the correct places but takes no care in explaining the choices made. Uses less than six sources. Text is SLOPPY - no proofing!
B: Follows directions. Describes the choices made using complete sentences and clear language. Labels items correctly. Cites sources. Organizes the visuals. The paragraphs are clearly written, but general in nature.
A: Does B - but, shows some extra care, thought and research. An A has a "Wow" factor. This does not mean more color or flying moneys. It means that the content selected does a great job TEACHING about the culture of the in that region in that time period